One of Costa Rica’s priorities has always been the protection of its biodiversity. The country has made serious efforts in generating countless initiatives, that supported by civil society, and a great array of non-governmental and international organizations, constitute a great effort in generating economic development and guaranteeing the use of resources in a sustainable manner.

Up until today, Costa Rica has signed forty-five international environmental treaties, most of them ratified between 1990 and 2003. Moreover, multiple normative bodies have been enacted, like the Organic Law of the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Telecommunications (MINAET, 1993); the Environmental Law (1995), the Forest Law (1996) and the Biodiversity Law (1998).

Since the approval of the Biodiversity Law, the conservation and sustainable management of the environmental resources has become more viable. This law oversees the implementation of measures according to the social demand of preserving, protecting and exploiting the biological resources in a more sustainable way in order to secure the quality of life of the future generations and the survival of the natural heritage.

The task of protecting the great biological richness of the country rests on the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Telecommunications (MINAET) and, within it, specifically on the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC), organization responsible for the conservation and sustainable promotion of the country’s biodiversity, found mostly in its primary and secondary forests, mangrove swamps, wetlands and forest plantations.